Lost at Sea

I'll admit that I only bought this because of Scott Pilgrim - I was at a talk that O'Malley gave, and didn't have any of my SP books with me, so I bought this so I could get an autograph from him. I'm so glad I did, though, because it's an amazing piece of art.

The art is absolutely beautiful, the story interesting, and the themes solid - this is the best work on teen angst in a generation, at least, and it's message that “if you're feeling like a freak, or a loser, it's probably because you are, but don't worry, because everyone else is as well at times” is a fun take on that phase of life, and something that can still resonate with adults as well.

What O'Malley does here that's interesting, as well, is that he introduces fantasy elements to the story, but makes them completely optional to your understanding of the story. Does Raliegh feel like she doesn't have a soul because her mom sold it to the devil, or just because she's going through a tumultuous time in her life? Likewise, does she get it back from the cat that it was given to, or does she just achieve a sense of belonging with her new friends? Both are equally possible, given the reality the story is placed in.

When I first started reading this graphic novel, it was normal. Just a bunch of kids road tripping it back home after... what? The school ending? I am guessing that. So the main character, Raleigh, is lost. She feels lost but mostly she believe that she lost her soul. Either after her best friend moved, her boyfriend left, or her dad left. She feels alone and lost in the world with no idea on what to do with herself.

Throughout the entire novel, she is traveling with these three other “friends” from her school back home. She never really talked to them that much when she was at school. They were apparently cooler than her and didn't hang out with her than once in a while during class.

The novel seemed normal until about 100 or so pages in. This is when you really get to know Raleigh and how she is feeling. You learn about how she is dealing with all these problems and how she feels. She is starting to deal with things mentally and they are messing with her head. She keeps seeing cats everywhere! And the word “no”. You start to see how she is deteriorating through these pages and how she might be losing her mind, but her friends seem to go along with it and help her out. She starts to open up to the only other girl with them, Stephanie. She seems to understand her problems and is willing to help her out. Raleigh was afraid that she would see her as crazy or mental to think these things. Most people would think you were a little crazy to think you had no soul.

Overall, this graphic novel wasn't really what I was expecting. It had a deeper meaning than I thought it would and it took an interesting approach to getting there. I really enjoyed the art in this novel. It was simple black and white but it said so much. I thought it would of been cool that the black and white actually meant something. Like how Raleigh feels and then it would gradually turn a bit colorful once she gets out of this funk, but that was just something I thought would be a nice touch. The author recommends this book to anyone that is dealing with confusion with their life and I agree. I think you could learn a lot from this graphic novel.